The present invention relates to a steering wheel assembly for a machine or vehicle. The steering wheel assembly of the invention is intended primarily for use on loading vehicles such as telehandlers, loading shovels and forklift trucks but it may find application in agricultural tractors, in particular those fitted with a front end loader.
In loading vehicles, it is quite common for the steering wheel to be fitted with a swivelling knob or lever, hereinafter termed a pommel, which allows the steering of the vehicle to be done quickly and efficiently with one hand. This is typically done with the left hand, to leave the right hand free to operate a joystick which controls the loader. This is particularly useful for loader work, which involves extensive steering and operating of the loader at the same time. With this kind of work, it is also frequently required to change the direction of movement and typically this is done with a shuttle lever mounted as a stalk off the steering column. This however means the left hand needs to be taken off the knob and moved to operate the shuttle lever.
It has already been proposed to incorporate a switch in the pommel, an example of this being shown in JP 4-356272. WO99/14095 also shows a control lever that is rotatably mounted on a steering wheel and carries switches to control the gear selection.
Both the above proposals, rely on the fact that if the pommel is gripped at all times, then it maintains a fixed orientation in relation to the driver. There are however times when the steering wheel will be turned without using the pommel, whereupon on returning his hand to the pommel the driver will not find the controls correctly oriented.